Multiple base stations exist on a radio network and each base station controls multiple nodes or cells. For example, a base station controls one macro node and multiple micro nodes covered by the macro node, or a base station controls multiple macro nodes and multiple micro nodes covered by each macro node.
A carrier that may be used by each node to serve a user is determined.
In a non-carrier-aggregation situation, a base station corresponding to a node that serves an individual user equipment (UE) uses one carrier or a pair of carriers to serve the UE.
In a carrier aggregation situation, a base station corresponding to a node that serves the UE may be configured with multiple carriers to serve the UE. The carriers appear as active carriers to the UE.
Within a radio network, for each carrier, service distribution is time-varying; and for each node service distribution is also time-varying. Channel quality of a UE on each carrier is time-varying, and channel quality specific to each node is also time-varying. When on different carriers, a UE has different channel quality, and also is exposed to different strength of interference.
In addition, system bandwidth corresponding to each carrier is also not completely the same. Consequently, a user service capability corresponding to each carrier is also different.
In an existing carrier allocation technology, however, a carrier allocated to a node is determined statically. In this case, each node on a radio network may send a signal to a UE only via a statically determined carrier. In a static carrier configuration, when channel quality of the UE changes dynamically, flexible response to inter-cell interference change and SINR change of the UE is impossible and dynamic carrier selection or dynamic carrier blanking may not be implemented, that is, dynamic selection and coordination of carriers and nodes may not be performed in multi-carrier and multi-node dimensions according to actual service and user channel quality conditions.